Summer 2009 Newsletter

Summer 2009 Between the 19th and the 23rd of July, some 60 youth joined us in Nordia youth center (near Netanya) for our annual youth summer campaign. With the theme, “Erasure of Palestinian history and culture from mainstream society,” the youth were invited to take part in workshops with days devoted to Education, Palestinian history, and culture. The youth chose from 4 focus groups: Activism, Art, Media, and Leadership which provided useful techniques for becoming active and advocating the importance of including Palestinian history and culture in today’s discourse, whether this is in their schools, with their families, or in society. The newsletter presents the campaign’s various activities.

Handala is a 10-year-old boy dressed in rags, representing the age al-Ali was when he and his family were exiled from their land in 1948 to live in refuge in Jordan. By the artistic choice of al-Ali, Handala always has his back facing the viewer. This is because Handala is looking upon Palestine, witnessing the suffering of his people on his land. Until the viewer can understand and see what he is seeing, Handala will forever have his back turned, his hands clasped behind him in an act that represents his refusal to give in to the ways both the Arab and Israeli governments are dealing with the conflict. Handala appears in many of al-Ali’s drawings, in many different situations and contexts. Even after al-Ali’s death in 1987, Handala is still a powerful symbol of Palestinian identity and resistance. Sixteen year old Palestinian youth Khabir Sedawir had this to say about the workshop: “Learning about Handala’s story was perfect because I didn’t get an

Handala Workshop During the day devoted to Palestinian culture, a workshop was held on the power of caricatures as a medium for creating social and political change. The youth were introduced to the great work of Palestinian political cartoonist Naji al-Ali. After reading about al-Ali’s life, his political work, and eventually his assassination in London, they were given the opportunity to create their own political cartoons and writings reflecting on how they view the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. However, the most powerful portion of the workshop was learning about al-Ali’s most famous caricature Handala.

opportunity to learn about him in school.”

2 Education Day During the day dedicated to examining the educational system, youth were engaging in critical thinking about what the formal education system in Israel does and does not teach them. There was a panel on the subject, guest speakers introduced youth to ideas of military culture and how from an early age the image of the soldier is gloriA heart-warming moment in the workshop was

fied. They also discussed the inequalities between

when the Palestinians were helping the Jewish

Arab and Jewish schools, from lack of resources

youth understand the political cartoons whose

to statistics on who passes exams and moves on

captions were in Arabic. In working together to

to higher education.

help one another understand and challenge the histories they previously knew about the conflict, these Palestinian and Israeli youth weren’t just displaying some idealized coexistence, but rather taking a step towards creating real and honest partnerships.

"What we must learn are the things that the Ministry of Eduation tells us we must not learn." Eighteen-year-old Jewish youth, Netta Elsner, provided great insight after the panel in stating: “What we must learn are the things that the Ministry of Education tells us we must not learn.” The panel was a perfect introduction for what came next – a simulation. The simulation required the youth to develop a campaign within their respective Arab or Jewish schools. These campaigns were directed towards getting the youth excited about implementing programs that foster tolerance and political awareness. The staff played the roles of the principal, assistant, teacher, education coordinator, and janitor. There was no teacher in the Arab school, a way to draw attention to the lack of resources and inequalities within Arab schools. The Jewish youth planned a campaign around learning spoken Arabic starting in the 3rd grade, a seemingly far too ambitious goal to be implemented in a Jewish school, while the Palestinian youth focused on bringing in more programs that teach Palestinian culture and history.

3 Overall the simulation was a success and made a huge impact on the youth. The atmosphere provided an air of reality, as if the youth were facing their actual schools and the education system, with its many prejudices and problems. In the end, the youth developed a project they wanted to be implemented in their school and then experimented with ways to go about doing it…creating this change. These youth were actively using activist theory and tactics they had learned during the camp. One of As the simulation played out, more challenges arose for the youth. Some of the bureaucratic barriers the youth faced were when the Jewish youth asked their teacher for help, she would artificially act interested, passing them off to the principal. The Palestinian youth, on the other hand, went straight to the principal but were told that she was busy.

"It gave me hope that something can be done to change society. I learned that as a student I can affect my school and that I have the right to speak up for what I believe in." Aside from these hierarchies and bureaucracy within the school system, an announcement from the government was made in which Lieberman passed a law forbidding the commemoration of the Nakba on Israeli Independence Day. Thus, this announcement created a tougher political climate in the midst of the youths’ attempts to get their campaigns passed. Other obstacles that arose were that some of the staff that helped the youth got fired, and some of the youth that acted out against these firings were suspended. It was exciting to see the youth getting involved politically; the Palestinian youth at one point marched out of their classroom cheering and demonstrating.

the Palestinian groups of students even created a petition and other helpful tools used in campaigning. While the Jewish youth seemed less motivated resulting in their campaign not passing, the Palestinian youth were able to get their campaign pass in their school. Sixteen year-old Palestinian Rasha Mansour said that the simulation was her favorite activity of the summer camp because, “it gave me hope that something can be done to change society.” She also said, “I learned that as a student I can affect my school and that I have the right to speak up for what I believe in.” Beyond providing a better understanding of how the education system works, this simulation inspired youth, showing them that as students they have leverage in their schools to take action and create real change.

4 Baby Steps An incredible story is one of Shira XX, a 15-year-old Jewish youth from a religious Moshav in the south. She explained to me her perceptions of Arabs previous to the camp, which seemed racist and skewed due to the fact that she lives where Kassam rockets fall, and the only images of Arabs she sees are on bias news and media. Shira stated simply, harshly, but honestly: “This week I learned that not all Arabs are bad.” Admitting this was not a towering feat in which prejudices were completely overcome, but rather a beginning for Shira in her educational journey. The summer camp helped her begin this process of informal education, one that lasts a lifetime, in which she will constantly be challenging what she feels and believes. And it is these baby steps which can grow into something great, a generation of wellinformed individuals who take direct action for change in the future.

Activism Group Within the camp, youth were also assigned focus

the camp, the group planned direct actions. For example, its members decided to “serve” Arabic words and phrases at dinner, to confront the issue of Arabic being erased from the public sphere. By

groups that met regularly to reflect

the youth and staff “digesting” the

on their days of workshops and

Arabic in the dining hall, the Activ-

activities. The four focus groups

ism group brought light to these

consisted of media, activism,

important issues. They dressed in

art, and leadership. These main

wild costumes they put together

groups were geared towards pro-

with pieces of clothes and deco-

viding youth with specific tools

rations, and entered the dining

as a way to become politically

hall shouting chants such as “We

involved. The Activism group

don’t want to be indifferent; we

focused on tactics and approach-

want to learn Mahmood Darwish.”

es of direct action. They studied

Chants like this also brought up

and watched footage of different

the issue of the immense bias and

direct action groups around the

censorship in the school system

world, including Samba, the percussion protest

which denies youth the opportunity to learn about

group from Tel Aviv. Throughout the course of

Palestinian culture and history.

“I like to feel like I accomplished something, by learning and then being able to apply that knowledge towards achieving a goal.” As the camp was nearing its end, the group prepared one last action: a treasure hunt that would help youth learn facts about Palestinian culture and history. Through planning this activity, the group

5 Learning Media Skills This year’s summer seminar was a great opportunity for youth to acquire skills related to media. All interested could partake in a series of communication workshops. It was the first time summer camp participants could choose from so many workshops on that issue.

learned how much effort is involved in putting on an event; thinking of the political message, finding ways to turn ideas into actions, flyering, putting up posters… Netta Elsner, a Jewish member of the group, said that planning the activity for the rest of the camp was her favorite experience. She elaborated by saying: “I like to feel like I accomplished something, by learning and then being able to apply that knowledge towards achieving a goal.” Khabir Sedawir, Palestinian member, had this to say: “The Activism group was the best group I have ever been in; it was fun and active. I learned about activism and what it can accomplish.” Khabir, who is very shy, also explained; “…when I was in the Activism group, I was not afraid to speak out.” So whether the group provided youth with an introduction to direct action, or a space to speak openly, it had a positive and lasting impact on the youth.

“I think it was a good opportunity to work on my communication skills with others because normally I do not get the feedback I got here.” The most popular workshop among the youth was called “The X-files.” At the beginning, the group got acquainted with articles from different media sources, showing that facts are not always presented with the same approach. They frowned as they read on – initially there was a pregnant silence, then they commented: “how is it that a press coverage about Tel Aviv from the 40s’ says nothing about Jaffa, despite the fact that it is one of the oldest city in the region?” Or “why is there no Arabic language on the replaced road signs, if they say that the only reason for replacing the signs is the fact that they were worn out’.

6 Nakba Revisited The third day of the summer seminar was dedicated to 1948 and the Nakba; youth were given the opportunity to learn what is not taught at school concerning the establishment of the state of Israel. To help them understand the events better, they were taken out of the camp grounds on a tour of destroyed Palestinian villages. Two buses took the youth to sites in the areas of Haifa and Tel The workshop’s next task was more challenging: the youth were supposed to give their first TV

Aviv which underwent more than names changes in 1948.

interview and they approached this task seriously. Working in pairs, they briefed themselves on the subject of the interview and then each pair had time to answer questions. “I’m not quite sure what was more difficult in this task,” said Hana, a Palestinian youth, after her turn. “The questions came out of the blue and it was all filmed. However, it was helpful to overcome nervousness by speaking in public.” After each pair was interviewed, they received feedbacks from the interviewers and from the other youth. “I think it was a good oppor-

On the tour around Haifa, the youth visited plac-

tunity to work on my communication skills with oth-

es nowadays called: En Ayyala, Ofer and Kibbutz

ers because normally I do not get the feedback I

Maabarot, which in 1948 were named: Ein Ghazal,

got here” a Jewish participant said. Another youth

Ejzem and al-Tantura, typical Arab villages of the

pointed to the fact that he was being filmed: “It

region. In May and July of 1948, they ceased to

was really stimulating to give a good answer, since

exist as Arab villages as they could not defend

you never know who will see the footage.”

themselves when assaulted by Israeli troops. Their residents had to flee from their homes, leaving all property and belongings behind to live in refuge in the Jenin area or nearby al-Furadis. Many the Palestinians did not survive the expulsions - the number of lives unaccounted for was over 100 in each village. Those who survived never came back home. The villages were changed drastically as abandoned goods were looted, houses obliterated and

7 the remaining property converted for new dwellers

“In my school, teachers do not speak about the

to live. The villages' roadsides are to this day full

Nakba because are afraid of the consequences

of rubbish from the demolished houses. In Ejzem,

if they do” said sixteen year old Palestinian youth

the elementary school for boys founded in 1888 by

Rasha. “Here on the tour, we not only listen to the

the Ottomans serves as synagogue today – just

truth spoken by the guide, but also see how his-

another example of how many parts of Israel are

tory was covered up” she added.

built on the ruins of pre-1948 Palestine.

For them, it was important that on these tours

“I really admire that woman. She lives without running water or electricity that Jews living few hundred meters away have, but she is so serene and perseveres despite all of these obstacles.”

they were told the facts about what happened in 1948. Lena, eighteen year old Jewish youth, said that for her being on the tour and learning this history was not easy, but it is something she feels she and others need to learn about and acknowledge if they are to achieve the peaceful coexistence of

On the tour, youth also met a Palestinian woman whose family remained in its home in 1948. They listened to her story about struggling to live on land whose owners had become Jewish overnight. “I really admire that woman,” one Palestinian youth said.

“She

lives without running water or electricity that Jews living few hundred meters away

have,

but she is so serene

and

p e r s eve r e s despite all of these obstacles.” As the buses past through sites that used to be Arab villages, the youth started to acknowl-

two people in the future. For Diran, an eighteen year old Palestinian youth, the tour was important for another reason. Her grandfather was among those expelled from the village Diran, which the youth visited and which she was named after. “I go to a Jewish school where I cannot share family memories of what happened to my grandfather with my schoolmates” Diran said. She added, “On this tour, I felt that there are people that do care about learning the true events of 1948.”

edge what took place in 1948. They saw how little remained of the Arab villages today. Mostly, the youth noticed the rubbles on the roadsides and the conversion of buildings for the purpose of those who settled in later.

This newsletter was produced by our amazing volunteers, Susannah Nachenberg and Adam Juzwiak. We thank them for their work.